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I have been in correspondence with Nikita Logoveg, head of a Russian organization called the Restoration Centre of Northern Dogs.

Let's go back in history. After the Russian Revolution (1917) the government began imposing rules which eventually reached even the farthest most corners of the former USSR. After Stalin came to power, the nomadic Inuit people of Siberia and Kamchatka were forced into settlements. One of the more draconian measures imposed on them was the 'standardization' of their dogs. The government had decided to produce "a Soviet Dog", and for this laid down strict rules governing breeding. The results were a great number of 'standard' dogs. However, in the far reaches of Kamchatka, Chukotka, and the Chukchi peninsula, the rules were never closely followed, if at all.

In recent years, a connection was established between the Soviet Union, (and later Russia), and the United States through the efforts of Paul Schurke (see Bering Bridge Expedition in Fan Hitch, volume I, number 4), as well as of the Alaskan mushers who sponsored The Race for Hope on the coast of the Chukchi Peninsula.

The latest contact is Nikita Logoveg, who, along with other dedicated Russian dog lovers, is trying to reestablish the original northern dog.  He is planning a trip to Kamchatka and Chukotka in the hope of finding some pure dogs. The dogs he seeks have broad heads, small slanted eyes, and small rounded ears, the typical curly tail and a good double coat. They also must have good feet and display a work ethic. Doesn't this sound familiar? It's very much the description of a Canadian Inuit Dog. And so it should be. In the origins, the Canadian Inuit Dog came from what we commonly called central and eastern Siberia. If his search is successful, we shall be able to compare dogs. This, along with our fledgling DNA program, might provide some interesting results for the future of the CISD breed as well as the Russian Inuit Dog.